health
Run
Strong
Two women bond over
running and beating
anorexia and launch a
business.
JOYCE WISWELL CONTRIBUTING WRITER
U
pon meeting at work, 40-some-
thing fitness instructors Amy
Haenick and Sara Plumstead
soon realized they had a lot in common,
including supportive husbands, great
children, college life at Michigan State, a
commitment to physical fitness — and
triumph over anorexia nervosa.
Each woman grappled with the eat-
ing disorder in her younger years but
successfully overcame it and now talks
openly about the struggle. Staying fit and
long-distance running play a major role in
each of their lives, and together they have
launched a business called Run Strong
Project that offers training plans for all
distances plus run-specific strength train-
ing.
“We met at Orangetheory Fitness in
Birmingham about two years ago —
where I still work — and became very
fast friends,” said Haenick, who lives in
Huntington Woods with her husband,
Mike, and children Ellie, 14 (who had her
bat mitzvah last year with Rabbi Dorit
Edut), and Evan, 11.
“We both are so passionate about
running, strength training and helping
people meet their goals, and it just kind of
evolved. We said, ‘What if we do this?’ and
the next thing we knew we had bought a
domain name and started our business.”
Run Strong Project helps runners meet
specific goals, be it a 5K or long-distance
marathon, with a detailed plan that
66
April 26 • 2018
jn
includes distance, pace and exercises that “But there was such a variance of people
Haenick said participants need “nothing
at the meeting, and my parents didn’t
— literally nothing” to do.
associate me with them. I vividly
ABOVE: Run Strong remember walking out and one
“These are squats, pushups
Project founders
and things you can do around
of my parents saying, ‘Thank God
Sara
Plumstead and that’s not you. You don’t belong
the house and outside,” she said.
Amy Haenick.
“You don’t need equipment. If
here.’ And I started hysterically
you have shorts and a T-shirt,
crying and said, ‘That is me. This
you can do it. Many people don’t realize
is me.’ I am so lucky they really caught
the importance of strength training, espe- on very quickly.”
cially for runners, to prevent injury.”
It took a few years of therapy and
hard work, but Haenick was able to beat
anorexia — though she must remain
PERSONAL JOURNEYS
vigilant. “I know my triggers, and I can
Haenick, who specializes in the
tell when I am starting to slip a little,”
strength-training part of the business,
has completed about 10 marathons with she said. “Several times in my adult life
I have seen the therapist I saw 25 years
a personal record of 3:35.
ago.”
“I hate to say running saved me, but
Plumstead, 41, developed anorexia at
it became something goal-oriented I
age 17. “I was diagnosed with irritable
could do and get success from,” said
Haenick, 43, who developed anorexia as bowel disease, so every time I ate I was
a freshman at Michigan State University getting sick. The easiest thing was not
to eat,” she said. “Controlling what I put
after being a successful athlete in high
school.
in my mouth gave me a sense of relief
“It was a rough transition. I went from that I still had some control over my life.
being somebody to just kind of a num-
Then people started complimenting me,
ber and felt a loss of control,” she said.
saying, ‘You lost weight. You look really
“So, I started to control what I could,
good.’ It was a downward spiral from
which was eating, and it became more
there.”
Plumstead’s hair started falling out,
and more of an obsession.”
and her overall health plummeted dur-
Alarmed at her increasing thinness,
Haenick’s parents brought her to an eat- ing her first year at MSU. “I started get-
ing disorder support group at Beaumont ting scared that something was really
Hospital. “I did not resist; I think I was
wrong, so I shared with my parents
secretly begging for help,” she recalled.
what was going on,” she said. “They
were shocked. I had hidden it very well;
anorexia is a very secretive, manipula-
tive disease.”
Once she made the decision to face
up to her anorexia, Plumstead made a
relatively fast recovery. “Not to say that
I got off easy, but once I decided I was
done, I was done. I have definitely put it
behind me. Having daughters has kept
me on track because I want to be the
best example for them.”
Plumstead, who holds a masters
degree in counseling, lives in Beverly
Hills with her husband, Kevin, and chil-
dren Ella, 13, and Olivia, 11. She didn’t
start running until age 30, when she
gave it a try to relieve stress after Olivia
was born with a rare chromosome dele-
tion that has resulted in a variety of
special needs.
Plumstead has completed 20 mara-
thons. Her personal record is 3:04 and
she’s determined to break the 3-minute
mark. “I 100 percent believe in myself,”
she said.
The women are buoyed by the success
their new business has enjoyed since
launching in January. “We are relatable,
especially with our background with
eating disorders,” Haenick said. “We are
normal people, and all we want to do is
help other people. We’re not in this to
make millions.” •
Learn more at runstrongproject.com.